Remembered for their contributions to the broadcast, audio & screen industries
*Printed here in order of their publication in Broadcast Dialogue’s Weekly Briefing and including notices from Dec. 2022.
Mark Leebody, 63, unexpectedly on Dec. 26. A graduate of the Fanshawe College Radio & Television Broadcasting Technology program, Leebody spent the bulk of his broadcasting career with TSN. Signing on in 1984 when the network launched, Leebody served as Presentation Coordinator for more than 38 years.
Michel Lapointe, 59, following a heart attack while on vacation on Dec. 23. Known by his nickname “Mononc Mike,” Lapointe was a fixture on the airwaves in the Outaouais region, helming drive home show “L’Outaouais Now” on French-language radio station 104.7 (CKOF-FM). He had previously helmed the station’s morning show, “Que l’Outaouais se lève” from 2015-18. Prior to joining 104.7, Lapointe was a sports journalist at CKTF Gatineau and did hosting stints on CKAC, CKOI-FM and 98.5 (CHMP-FM) Montreal.
Hélène Tanguay, 70, on Jan. 7. A longtime employee of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and an animation champion, Tanguay first joined the NFB’s Festivals unit in 1970, at the age of 17. In 1979, she began volunteering for ASIFA, the International Animated Film Association, working with the organization’s Canadian and international bodies. In 1984, she was named Marketing Manager for the NFB’s English Program Animation Studio in Montreal. She retired in 2007 after almost 40 years of service bringing the work of NFB creators to a wider audience. Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis’ award-winning 2022 animated short, The Flying Sailor, which was recently shortlisted for an Oscar, is dedicated to Tanguay.
Jack Carpenter, 96, on Jan. 5. Born in Wiltshire, England, Carpenter became involved at a young age with acts heard on BBC radio during wartime Britain in the 1940s. It was through performing that he met his wife Joyce and the two started performing, while he also worked as a draftsman for an airplane company. The couple moved to Acton, ON in 1956 when Carpenter was assigned to work on the AVRO Arrow project in Malton. Following its cancellation, he found work at CJOY-AM Guelph, and then as a film reporter for CKCO-TV, going on to host his own Sunday night variety show on CFCA-FM, called “Music Hall” for more than 25 years. An avid “community booster,” over the years Carpenter staged many events including the “Lighten Up, Canada – Wear a Red Nose” initiative in the early ‘90s, aimed at getting Canadians through the dreary month of February. He also spearheaded the launch of local Rotary Club event, the Acton Trunk Sale, which continues as an annual tradition. He was recognized as Citizen of the Year in 1995.
Irv Shore, 94, on Jan. 5. Born and raised in Medicine Hat, AB, Shore attended the Lorne Greene Academy of Radio Arts in Toronto following high school. He returned to Medicine Hat in 1949 and began his radio career at CHAT as a staff announcer. In 1953, he moved to Edmonton spending the next 20 years at CFRN as the host of popular morning show “Shore’s Early.” He went on to join CHQT-AM in 1973 as the host of the mid-morning show for 17 years. Over the course of his career, Shore interviewed many celebrities with his personal highlights including Jack Benny, Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Liberace, Chuck Connors and Lou Ferrigno. Following his broadcast career, he moved into sales and promotional advertising.
Lisa Akizuki, 57, on Jan. 1, following a battle with cancer. Akizuki joined Bohn & Associates as a consultant in the early 1990s, going on to become Program Director at easy listening station, 96.5 SUN FM (CIEZ-FM) in Bedford, NS, one of Bohn & Associates’ clients. In 1997, she moved to Winnipeg to take up the role of VP of Programming at Craig Broadcasting Hot AC station, Hot 103 (CKMM-FM). She left the industry in 2001 and had been living in Vancouver for the last two decades as the owner of a successful dog walking business.
Todd Brian, 59, on Dec. 28, after a brief battle with ALS. Following time in the Film Studies program at Ryerson and Centennial College’s Independent Producer’s Program, Brian started his career with Barna-Alper Productions as a Business Affairs Assistant and Development Coordinator. He went on to do a residency with the Canadian Film Centre in the Prime Time Television Writing Program. That led to writing stints with Breakthrough Animation, Corus Entertainment, Entertainment One, DHX Media, and CBC Television. His credits included 2004 series “Show Me Yours” and “Majority Rules!” (2009-10). He moved into the role of Production Executive at Corus Kids in 2016, where he oversaw 2016 YA series “Ride” and 2017 “Bruno & Boots” TV movies “The Wizzle War” and “This Can’t Be Happening at McDonald Hall,” in addition to “Anne of Green Fables: Fire and Dew.” He went on to join marblemedia as a Development Executive, followed by Alibi Entertainment. Since 2019, he’d served as Director of Development, Animation for DHX/WildBrain.
Sean Vedell, 60, unexpectedly on Dec. 28. After graduating from Mohawk College in 1984, Vedell joined 820 CHAM Hamilton as an on-air announcer, in addition to time at CKOC. In 2000, he moved on to a new career in IT with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board where he held various roles, including Project Coordinator, for nearly 23 years. His death came just weeks after losing his daughter to cancer.
Alan Horn, on Jan. 16. Horn first joined Rogers Communications in 1990 after working as a tax consultant for Ted Rogers for over a decade. A longtime Rogers executive, board member and family ally, he served as VP, Finance and Chief Financial Officer from 1996 to 2006 and Chair of the Board from 2006 to 2017. He also served as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer from October 2008 to March 2009 and from October 2016 to April 2017. A member of the Advisory Committee of the Rogers Control Trust, Horn served on the board of directors continuously from 2006 through the 2021 power struggle that saw Edward Rogers gain control of the RCI board. In a release, Rogers credited Horn with substantially strengthening the company’s balance sheet, turning the company’s debt from junk bond to investment grade status, bringing the Rogers operating companies under one public stock, introducing a dividend program and playing an integral role on many transformative acquisitions. Read more here.
David Onley, 72, on Jan. 14. The first person with a disability to hold the post of lieutenant governor of Ontario, Onley suffered partial paralysis after a bout with polio as a child and preferred to get around via electric scooter. His appointment, from 2007 to 2014, followed a radio and television broadcasting career as one of the first on-air television personalities with a visible disability. Born in Midland, ON and raised in Scarborough, Onley didn’t gain full-time employment until age 34. Unable to find work after graduating from the University of Toronto, Onley established himself as a Canadian authority on NASA’s space programs after publishing Shuttle: A Shattering Novel of Disaster in Space in 1982. That led to a broadcast career that began at CFRB Toronto where he hosted a weekly science show. He went on to join the CKO network full-time in 1983. Citytv co-founder Moses Znaimer took notice and hired Onley a year later as the station’s weather specialist. He went on to serve as the first news anchor for the station’s new morning show, Breakfast Television, from 1989-95, followed by a stint as an education specialist. With the launch of CP24, he continued anchoring in addition to hosting and producing technology series Home Page. Onley received numerous honours in recognition of his disability advocacy, including induction into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame, the Scarborough Walk of Fame, the Order of Ontario, and the Order of Canada. Read more here.
Janice Johnston, 62, on Jan. 13, of cancer. Born in London, ON, Johnston studied Radio and Television Arts at Ryerson University, landing her first broadcasting job in radio as a country and western DJ at CKNX Wingham, ON. She relocated to Edmonton in the 1980s, joining CISN-FM as a reporter and was later named news director. She eventually moved into television news and CFRN-TV as a reporter and had been with CBC Edmonton since 2002. Known for her tenacious, dogged reporting, Johnston covered courts and crime in the city for more than three decades. Her in-depth reporting earned her several awards over the years, including a national RTDNA Award in 2016 when she was recognized with the Adrienne Clarkson Diversity Award for her coverage of the trial of a 13-year-old Alberta boy acquitted of killing his abusive father. She is survived by her husband of 36 years, Scott Johnston, a former longtime reporter with 630 CHED in Edmonton. Listen to Jessica Ng and Min Dhariwal remember Johnston on CBC Edmonton’s Radio Active here.
Tony Cox, 86, on Jan. 3 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Cox moved to Canada in 1958 and became interested in a career in broadcasting. His first stop was CFCW Camrose, AB, before he was hired at CFRN-TV Edmonton. He went on to serve as News Director at CHEK TV in Victoria, BC for two decades. In addition to his work in television news, Cox served on many boards and associations, including President of the Radio and Television News Director of Canada (RTNDA). He served as Chairman of the Board of Oak Bay Parks and Rec, was a founding Director of Victoria Crime Stoppers and was named Rotarian of the Year in 1990 by the Victoria Rotary Club. After retiring from CHEK, he served as an Executive Assistant with the B.C. Government, a skipper with the Victoria Harbour Ferry, a harbour patrol officer with Transport Canada, and a security officer at Government House for B.C. Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin.
Eduardo Olivares, 81, on Dec. 27. Born in Chile in 1941, Olivares spent the early years of his career as a freelance broadcaster, eventually getting his own show at a small radio station in 1962. When the government was overthrown in 1973 by dictator Augusto Pinochet, he was arrested for working there and suffered the fate of many broadcasters. After being imprisoned, tortured and eventually exiled from his homeland, in 1978 he arrived in Saskatoon with his wife and four children. After moving to Vancouver in 1992, he was encouraged to return to radio and created “Latino Soy” (I am Latino), a radio program designed to unite Vancouver’s growing Latin American community and help newly-arrived immigrants get information and connect with others. The show first aired on CJVB AM1470, before moving to Fairchild Radio’s CHKG in 1997, where it was broadcast on 96.1 FM, Monday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for 25 years. The show featured local talent, delivered news from Latin America, and played both new Latin music and old favourites. Olivares continued broadcasting the show from his home through the pandemic, up until the beginning of December. In 2002, he was recognized for his outstanding contribution to the Latin community and to Canada as a whole, when he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal.
Harvey Rosen, 83, on Dec. 22, after a brief illness and prolonged battle with dementia. Raised in North End Winnipeg, Rosen had a 33-year career as a school teacher, but was equally known for his side hustle as a sports reporter for The Canadian Press covering the Winnipeg Jets, Blue Bombers, and Manitoba Moose, among other teams. Rosen was also a weekly sports columnist for the Winnipeg Jewish Post, covering the achievements of Jewish athletes for more than 40 years. While he retired from teaching in 1995, he continued sports reporting until 2018.
Craig Wallebeck, 66, on Jan. 14. After graduating from the Columbia School of Broadcasting in Calgary, Wallebeck started his radio career at CKRD Red Deer in 1976. Subsequent positions followed at CKYL Peace River, CKPG Prince George, CHRB High River, CKBI Prince Albert and CKPR Thunder Bay. In 1997, Wallebeck moved to CKRM Regina where he eventually became News Director and hosted a daily call-in show. Around that time, he also served as RTDNA Prairie Director of Radio for three years. In 2013, he moved on to Yorkton and GX94 (CJGX-AM) as morning News Anchor and Senior Reporter. Wallebeck was one of the most recognizable news voices in Saskatchewan, mentoring many young reporters over the years who were just starting their careers. In 2021, he was named runner-up in the Best News Anchor (Small Market) category in the Broadcast Dialogue Canadian Radio Awards. In 2022, he was recognized with the RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award. Wallebeck had announced a pending retirement date of March 31, as a result of health concerns. His final newscast was delivered at noon the day before his sudden passing.
Jim Hault, 84, on Feb. 4. Born in Calgary, Hault started his radio career with CJCA Edmonton in 1962. In 1967, he relocated to Vancouver, first joining CJOR, with stints to follow at CKLG in 1968, CFUN in 1973, and CKNW in 1983. After parting ways with CKNW in 1992, Hault continued to serve as the imaging voice for Global BC until 2011. He also lent his voice to many documentary projects over the years, including Battle for the Trees (1993), Coquihalla – Highway 5: 20 Months Through the Mountains (1986) and Vancouver: Focus on Expo 86 (1986).
George Ross Robertson, 89, on Jan. 29. Born in Brampton, ON, over the course of a more than 60-year stage, film and TV career, Robertson enjoyed over 80 roles, best known for appearing in the original Police Academy film and six sequels as Chief Hurst. Robertson held roles in three separate films nominated for Best Picture, including Airport (1970), Norma Rae (1979) and JFK (1991), in addition to appearances in Rosemary’s Baby (1968), National Lampoon’s Senior Trip (1995), and Murder at 1600 (1997), among other film and television roles. He was honoured with the Margaret Collier Award in 1993, recognizing his writing work in film and television. A UNICEF ambassador, among other causes he was dedicated to, Robertson was named Humanitarian of the Year at the Gemini Awards in 2004. He received the Danny Kaye UNICEF Canada award in 1990.
George C. Robertson, 93, on Jan. 1. Robertson sold his first radio play to CBC Vancouver in the late 1940s while studying at UBC with Canadian poet Earle Birney’s Creative Writing class. After completing a post-graduate fellowship in Creative Writing at Iowa State, Robertson returned to Canada and took up work as a writer with the National Film Board in Ottawa. He returned to Vancouver in 1953 and joined CBC as a radio producer, directing shows like” Jazz Workshop”, “Hotel Downbeat”, and drama series “Don Quixote” and “The Amateur Gentleman.” Robertson eventually moved into television, working on network documentaries for “Explorations” and “Here And Now” and producing variety program, “A Show Called X”, as well as interview music series, “Night Beat.” He went on to join CBC Ottawa as executive producer of current affairs series “Something Else”, followed by CBC Toronto in 1971 where he produced several historical programs before joining Current Affairs the following year. From 1984 until his retirement in 1989, Robertson was a producer for the “fifth estate”, specializing in short documentaries.
Bob Sharples, 85, on Jan. 26. Sharples held numerous jobs, including working as aircrew for the Royal Canadian Air Force, before he got into broadcasting with his first radio job at CFGP Grande Prairie, AB in 1962 where he quickly ascended to the role of news director. Sharple’s 37-year career continued at CBC Vancouver where he transitioned into television in 1967 as an anchor and host. He went on to host “The Good Morning Show” on CBC Radio, going on to develop the new “Daybreak” program, which had a 13-year run before it was cancelled. Over the years, he also provided the narration for many skits on radio and television comedy series “Double Exposure,” alongside impressionists Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen. Following the conclusion of Daybreak, Sharples continued working with the public broadcaster as a news presenter for eight more years, retiring in 1999.
Robert Torpey, 85, on Jan. 20 at Scarborough Health Network. After graduating with a degree in electrical engineering from Laval University, Torpey started his broadcast engineering career at CBC Montreal. He moved to Toronto in 1966 to work in the engineering department at Richmond Hill Labs and then McCurdy Radio Industries, two years later, as Director of Engineering. In 1975, he founded Torpey Controls and Engineering, designing and manufacturing clocks and timing products for radio, TV and digital. His electronic “Torpey Time” clocks and timing products for TV and radio broadcasters ensured a standard operating reference. In his down time, Torpey was part of amateur theatre company, Stage Centre Productions, where he enjoyed the technical side of sound and lighting. He retired in 2011.
Jim Nunn, 72, on Feb. 19, of cancer. Nunn was born into the broadcast business as the son of J. Clyde Nunn, the founding General Manager of CJFX Radio in Antigonish, NS and Director of Atlantic Broadcasters. Nunn and his brother Bruce both ended up in broadcasting, with Jim eventually joining CBC Nova Scotia where he had a career spanning three decades. Known for his pointed interview style, he hosted programs including CBC Nova Scotia at 6, Land & Sea, First Edition, and Marketplace. Nunn retired from CBC in 2009.
Peter Herrndorf, 82, on Feb. 18. Born in Amsterdam and raised in Winnipeg, Herrndorf started his career as a reporter at CBC Winnipeg in 1965 after graduating from Dalhousie University with a law degree. He joined CBC Edmonton as a current affairs producer later that year, moving to Toronto a few years later as producer of network current affairs show, The Way It Is. After obtaining his MBA at Harvard, he went on to serve as Head of TV Current Affairs from 1974-77, rising to the position of Vice President of English Services and Special Assistant to the VP and General Manager of CBC’s English network by 1979. Among other legacies, he is credited with helping found nightly current affairs magazine, The Journal, and later served a five-year term on the CBC board of directors, starting in 2005. Herrndorf went on to become publisher of Toronto Life from 1983 to 1992 and then Chairman and CEO of TVO from 1992 to 1999, when he stepped down. Later that year, he was appointed President & CEO of the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa where he served until 2018, helping found the NAC Foundation and NAC Indigenous Theatre. Herrndorf’s other contributions to the arts included co-founding the Governor General Performing Arts Awards with entertainment industry executive Brian Robertson in 1992. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1993, and upgraded to Companion status in 2017. In 2007, he was awarded the Order of Ontario. Read more here.
John Donahue, 85, on Feb. 7. Donahue was a fixture at CKCO-TV Kitchener for more than 28 years, where he worked as a reporter and cameraman, starting in 1967. Behind the camera, for the most part, for many of the important local and provincial stories of the day, Donahue retired in 1994.
Tom Deacon, 82, on Feb. 5. Deacon’s foray into media began in 1975, when he began freelancing for CBC Winnipeg writing classical concert reviews while teaching at the University of Manitoba. By the late ‘70s, he was working as a producer on “Stereo Morning.” In 1982, he became the producer of his own program, ”Live from Roy Thomson Hall.” Deacon was transferred to CBC Vancouver two years later where he helped create long-running afternoon program “DiscDrive.” In 1989, he headed stateside to take up the role of Program Director at Los Angeles classical station, KUSC. The Netherlands followed in the early ‘90s where Deacon began working with Polygram, applying his encyclopedic knowledge of classical music to creating CD compilations of legendary artists, including executive producing “Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century Edition” encompassing 250 hours of music on 200 discs. In 1998, when Polygram was acquired by Universal Music, Deacon was named VP, Catalogue Development. He returned to Canada in 2001 and retired from Universal Music in 2005.
Arthur Hustins, 85, on Feb. 5 in Halifax. Born in Bedford, NS, Hustins followed in the footsteps of his parents, operating the family’s motels and restaurants, and later developing commercial buildings including Sunnyside Mall and Sun Tower. That eventually led to the founding of Sun Radio (CIEZ-FM) in 1990 with minority investors, Yarmouth broadcaster Michael Trask and Dartmouth businessman Ronald Martin. By the late ‘90s, Sun Radio, NewCap, and CHUM had entered an LMA (local marketing agreement), under which NewCap managed all stations in the group (CHUM’s CJCH-AM and CIOO-FM, NewCap’s CFDR-AM and CFRQ-FM and Sun’s CIEZ-FM). Following CTVGlobemedia’s acquisition of CHUM, Newcap eventually gained control of Metro Radio Group. Hustins’ community service extended to many other notable endeavours including Chair of the Site Selection Committee for Halifax Metro Centre in the early 1970s and serving as Vice-Chair of the Nova Scotia Hospital Foundation from 1997-2000.
Joe Spence, 92, on Feb. 1. Spence’s first media job was at CKSO Radio in Sudbury in 1952. He had been teaching at Lansdowne Public School when he was recruited as a sportscaster. From there, he was briefly hired by CKRM Regina as morning man and sportscaster, before returning to Sudbury by the fall of 1953 when CKSO-TV signed on as the first privately-owned Canadian television station. Among other announcing duties, Spence hosted a sports show. He uprooted to Ottawa in 1964 to work at CJOH-TV and later CBC Radio and TV where he anchored for 18 years and worked on CFL broadcasts. He also did a stint doing play-by-play for Global’s broadcasts of the short-lived Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association. In 2008, Spence received a Lifetime Achievement Award in the Sports Media Category at the Annual Ottawa Sports Awards Dinner. He was inducted into the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame in 2013.
Don McGowan, 85, on Feb. 27, following a brief illness. McGowan’s foray into broadcasting started in 1957, at the age of 19, as an announcer at CKX-TV in Brandon, MB after receiving a recommendation from the organist at his Outremont, Que. church whose brothers worked at the station. McGowan went on to hold positions in Quebec City and Cornwall, ON before joining CFCF-12 (now CTV) Montreal in 1962. McGowan served as a weatherman, announcer, and host of travel series, “McGowan’s World” and “Travel, Travel.” For many years, he also held the title of Executive Producer at CFCF. He retired from the station in 1998 and had been living in Brockville, ON for the last 20 years.
Kerri Wynne MacLeod, 57, on Feb. 26, following an ongoing illness. Originally from Montague, PEI, MacLeod was a local stage performer and singer, prior to joining Newcap Radio in 2001 where she was heard on CHTN-AM Charlottetown. She helped launch the Ocean 100 morning show, alongside longtime co-host Kirk MacKinnon in 2006, when CHTN launched on FM. Memorial donations can be made to the Holland College Foundation for the Olivia Ruth MacLeod Memorial Award for Music Performance. Read more here.
Gordon Pinsent, 92, on Feb. 25. Originally from Grand Falls, NL, Pinsent started acting in stage plays in his teens and taking roles in CBC Radio dramas, before doing a stint with the Canadian Army. He had returned to acting by 1957 with roles on stage in Winnipeg, Toronto and Stratford. Parts in Canadian soap opera “Scarlett Hill” and CBC/ITC series “The Forest Rangers” followed, the start of a long film and television career that would include starring roles in films like “Away From Her” (2006), “The Shipping News” (2001), and “The Grand Seduction” (2013) and recurring parts in series, including “Due South,” “Republic of Doyle,” and “The Red Green Show.” Pinsent’s work with CBC Radio One over the years included documentary series “The Late Show,” a summer replacement that aired for three years in the late 2000s, featuring obituaries of notable but not universally known Canadians. Pinsent was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1979 and promoted to Companion in 1998. He received the Earle Grey Award recognizing lifetime achievement in television in 1997, and a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2007, in addition to numerous Genie, Gemini, and ACTRA awards.
Kent Matheson, 64, on Feb. 23, of cancer. Raised in Port Hope, ON, Matheson “jobbed out” at the beginning of his second year at Loyalist College to take a job with CKIX-FM St. John’s, NL in 1982. He went on to a 12-year run with CFQM-FM Moncton as Music Director where he received both Canadian Country Music Association (CCMA) nominations for Music Director of the Year and a nomination for East Coast Music Association (ECMA) Broadcast Personality of the Year. In 2008, he returned to Ontario to work with Moose FM (CKLP-FM) Parry Sound where he served as the station’s morning show host and for a time, program director. Matheson worked with Vista Radio for a total of 24 years, also heard on its Moose FM stations in Kapuskasing and Timmins.
Dan LeFurgey Plouffe, 70, on Feb. 27. Plouffe began his career in the mid-1960s as an on-air production operator at CKWS Radio in Kingston. He moved on to stints with VOCM St. John’s, NL and CKGM Montreal before joining CHUM Toronto. He went on to create radio syndication company, Footprint Productions, later joining Morgan Earl Sounds in Yorkville as a studio producer in 1975 where he set up a state-of-the-art production facility and team of sound engineers that collectively earned the studio more than 150 awards for its radio commercials and programs. A studio collaboration with CFTR Toronto led to Plouffe doing a stint as Promotions Manager for the station, but by 1985, he had left radio to co-found Firstcom Marketing, producing marketing, promotions, and special events for a roster of national clients. Firstcom eventually was acquired by the Young & Rubicam network of agencies. After relocating to Collingwood, ON permanently, Plouffe and his wife Julie launched online news and information site, mycollingwood.ca in 2005.
Robert “Bob-O” Ochoski, 76, on Feb. 4. Born in Sudbury, Ochoski’s broadcast career began at age 19 as an overnight operator at CKSO Radio. Two years later, he ascended to the position of CKSO AM and FM Production Manager. Ochoski left CKSO in 1980 to launch a small business with his wife Judy selling and installing mobile audio systems, including car stereos, alarm systems, and other forms of mobile communication. They eventually sold the business, with Bob working in sales for Sanyo, before returning to radio with a sales position at CHUR-AM North Bay throughout the 1980s and early ‘90s.
Geri Smith, 60, on March 2. Smith’s broadcasting career got underway in 1983 with a stint at CFTJ in Cambridge, ON as a DJ. She went on to work in Kitchener, before joining the Canadian Press (CP) in June 1988. Smith would go on to a 35-year career as a newscaster and editor with the wire service, with her voice recognizable to radio listeners across the country. Smith was on leave from CP at the time of her passing.
Helen Donnelly Hutchinson, 89, on Feb. 21. A year after her graduation from University of British Columbia, a young Helen Donnelly married CFL player Jack Hutchinson. The couple moved to Saskatchewan and later Winnipeg where Jack accepted a position with CBC Radio following the conclusion of his football career in the late ‘50s. Helen joined the public broadcaster as a book reviewer in the late 1960s, the start of a long broadcast career that led her to be dubbed “Canada’s answer to Barbara Walters.” Helen was one of the first Canadian women to build national recognition in television news, hosting CTV’s Canada AM from 1973-79, alongside Norm Perry, and later W5 from 1979-87, with co-hosts Henry Champ, Jim Reed and Bill Cunningham. She also made history as the first woman to conduct game night interviews on Hockey Night in Canada when she was drafted by Executive Producer Ralph Mellanby to be part of the broadcast. In 1975, she won an ACTRA award for Best Public Affairs Broadcaster. It’s estimated she travelled to 89 countries during the course of her broadcast career.
Ori Siegel on March 17. Siegel worked as an operator and technician at CKKW-AM Kitchener, CFCA-FM Toronto, CHFI AM and FM Toronto, and CFTO-TV, before joining the CBC in 1982. Over the next 36 years, he held roles in the Network Control Centre, Master Control, VTR operations, and served as Network Traffic Coordinator. He retired from the CBC in 2018. In retirement, he shared his passion for HAM radio at the amateur radio station at Ontario Science Centre, in addition to volunteering at the Toronto Rail Museum. He was also involved with the Scarborough Music Theatre, serving as musical director, among other roles, on numerous theatre productions over the years
Larry Gordon, 71, on March 17 after a battle with glioblastoma. After graduating from the Radio & Television Arts program at Conestoga College in 1972, Gordon started his radio career in Huntsville with stops in Kitchener and Stratford, before moving to Sarnia in 1974 to join the CHOK newsroom where he would work for the next 38 years. He took on the role of news director in 1978. He retired in April 2013 with Sarnia Police Chief Phil Nelson presenting Gordon with a Community Service Medal. He went on to serve two terms on the Village of Point Edward Council.
Claude Fournier, 91, on March 16. Fournier worked as a cameraman at Radio-Canada before joining the National Film Board (NFB) in 1957 as a writer and director. He eventually left to work with documentary filmmakers Richard Leacock and D.A. Pennebaker in New York, returning to Montreal in 1963 to set up his own prodco, Rose Films. Among his better known films are 1970’s Two Women in Gold (Deux femmes en or) and The Tin Flute (1983), based on the Gabrielle Roy novel. Fournier also co-wrote the script for A Special Day (1977), a Canada-Italy co-production starring Sophia Loren that earned an Oscar nomination. 1988 television mini-series “Les Tisserands du pouvoir” won Fournier a Gemeaux Award for Best Direction, Television Drama and a Genie Award for Best Screenplay. More recently, Fournier was associated with Éléphant: Mémoire du Cinéma Québécois, a project to digitize Québec films. His twin brother is author, producer and screenwriter Guy Fournier, who served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of CBC from 2005-06.
Johnnie Walters, 89, on Feb. 26. Born in Beamsville, ON, Walters started working at radio stations around southwestern Ontario at age 17. It was in London that he met Jackie Barnes, the station’s music librarian, whom he married in 1958. The couple moved around as Walters hosted radio and television in various markets, landing in Cleveland from 1959-67, where Johnnie was a host at progressive rock station, WHK. Eventually, the Walters decided to return home to Ontario where Johnnie joined CKCO-TV. Over the next two decades, he hosted shows including “Horoscope Dollars” (1974-76); “The Johnnie Walters Show” (1976-81); “Tempo Ontario” (1981-82); “Trivia Company” (1983-87) and “Morning Magazine” (1987-94). Walters retired from CKCO in 1994 at age 61. He published his memoir “A Very Capable Life” in 2010, which went on to win the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction.
Trevor Harvey, 74, on March 4, in Nanaimo. Originally from North Vancouver, Harvey studied Mass Communication & Media at Simon Fraser University before embarking on a radio, advertising and marketing career. Among other stops over the years, he enjoyed a 12-year run at CJKC Kamloops, in addition to working with Mountain FM (CISQ-FM) Squamish, JR Country (CJJR-FM) Vancouver, 980 CKNW and Rock 101 (CFMI-FM) Vancouver, CFVR Abbotsford, SUN FM (CJSU-FM) Duncan (where he served as General Manager and General Sales Manager), and more recently The Raven (CKCC-FM) Campbell River. He also ran his own company, Peak Performance Services, for nearly two decades.
David B. Thompson, 73, on Jan. 8. Thompson started his broadcast career in 1966 at CKNX Wingham, ON, pulling cable and working in VTR and other production positions. He was hired by Doug McCormick in 1973 at CFTO, where he started as a VTR operator and worked his way up to editor, the beginning of an award-winning editing career, which in the early days included editing Canadian series like “Night Heat” and “The Littlest Hobo.” Work on “Due South,” “La Femme Nikita,” “Flashpoint”, “Bitten,” “Rogue,” “Hemlock Grove,” and “Fortunate Son” followed, among many other productions. Thompson was nominated for an Emmy in 2002 for the pilot of “24” and was a five-time Gemini Award nominee, including two nods for Due South. He was part of the team that won a DGC Award in 2009 for television mini-series “The Summit” and captured a Canadian Cinema Editors Award in 2011 for “Living in Your Car.”
Mark Byington, 93, on April 8. Byington began his 23-year broadcasting career in 1951 when, on a dare, he auditioned at CJAT Trail, BC. He was hired and from there went on to CKOV Kelowna, CJIB Vernon, CFCN and CFAC Calgary, CHAT, radio and TV in Medicine Hat, and CFRN radio and TV in Edmonton. Over the years, Byington held positions from chief announcer to assistant sports director, radio and television newscaster, and provincial affairs reporter. Among his career highlights was covering the first-ever televised Premiers Conference in Ottawa in 1971. He moved on from broadcasting in 1974 to work briefly as the Public Relations Director for the Alberta Social Credit Party, followed by a 14-year run with the Alberta government.
Fred Sherratt, 93, on April 22 with his family by his side. Sherratt got his start in radio in 1948 as an announcer at CKCL Truro, NS. In 1949, he moved to Northern Ontario where he was a salesman and announcer with Roy Thomson’s stations. By 1956, Sherratt had co-founded CFRS Simcoe, ON and served as its General Manager until 1960. It was then that he joined the CHUM organization and was named GM of CKPT Peterborough. Five years later, he returned to Nova Scotia to take over the helm of CJCH Radio in Halifax as Vice-President and General Manager. In 1969, Sherratt was named Vice-President of CHUM Limited and in 1971 joined CHUM and other investors to buy CJCH-TV, of which he was named President. Soon after, CHUM Limited acquired CKCW-TV Moncton, NB and CJCB-TV Sydney, NS which came under the umbrella of the Atlantic Television System and led to founding of the Atlantic Satellite Network. He went on to serve as President of ATV and Executive Vice-President and CEO of CHUM Limited, overseeing CHUM’s broadcast operations across the country from company headquarters in Toronto. He eventually retired as Chief Operations Officer, stepping down in late 2002 as Vice-Chairman, but continuing as a director and consultant. Sherratt served on many industry boards and committees over the years including as Chairman of the Bureau of Broadcast Measurement (BBM), a Director of the CTV Television Network, and on the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) Board and Executive Committee. He was inducted into the CAB Broadcast Hall of Fame in 1995 and in 2008, received the first ever Ontario Association of Broadcasters’ Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009, he was honoured at the JUNO Awards, where he received the Walt Grealis Special Achievement Award. Read more here.
Vic Folliott on April 21, following complications from a seizure. Folliott spent the entirety of his 50-year broadcasting career in Ontario. His early stops included hosting a country show on CKPC-AM Brantford in the early 1970s, before going on to become the founding Program Director of BX93 (CJBX-FM) London at station launch in 1980, in addition to on-air and Music Director responsibilities. From there, he spent 14 years at Great Lakes Broadcasting’s CKGL 96.7 (now CHYM 96.7) Kitchener as Operations Manager. A brief stint followed as General Manager at CKWR-FM Kitchener and then a turn in sales at KICX 106 Orillia. Folliott went on to help launch The Grand 101 (CICW-FM) Centre Wellington in 2014, serving as General Manager and hosting the morning show for the first year. He moved into sales, prior to retiring from the station in Sept. 2020. He’d most recently been hosting “In Studio and On The Road” on RogersTV in Kitchener, highlighting people and places in the Waterloo Region.
Don Daynard, 88, on April 20. Daynard began his broadcasting career as a junior copy boy at CFOS Owen Sound in 1953. From there, he made stops at CHEX-TV Peterborough, CKCR Kitchener, CJET Smiths Falls, and briefly CFGM Richmond Hill, before landing in Toronto where he spent the rest of his 50-year career. Daynard was on-air at CFRB, before joining CKFM in 1969 where he had a 12-year run with “Daynard’s Drive-In” in morning drive, in addition to hosting Saturday evening show “Lookin’ Back.” Daynard was lured over to the CHFI morning show in 1987, initially hosting the show solo, until being paired with co-host Erin Davis. He semi-retired in 1999, continuing to host “Saturday Night Oldies” on the station until 2004. Read more here. Watch Erin Davis’ tribute to Daynard below:
Bill Auchterlonie, 73, on April 5. Auchterlonie’s radio career began behind-the-scenes at CFRB Toronto, while studying art and film production at York University. He returned to radio in 1974, following his studies, with stops at CKMW Brampton, AM 710 (CJRN) Niagara Falls, and CHAM Hamilton. He landed at CKTB St. Catharines in 1986 where he hosted a morning talk show for a decade. He left radio in 1997, going on to serve as the Executive Director of the Kidney Foundation of Canada – Niagara District and the United Way of South Niagara. With an avid interest in all things art, Auchterlonie established the Inuksuk on the Lake Art Gallery in Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2017, promoting Inuit and Six Nations artists. He chaired the group that established a monument to Nikola Tesla in the region and served on the board of Rodman Hall and Willowbank School of Restoration Arts. With a lifelong interest in astrology, more recently Auchterlonie had been hosting the “Auchterlonie on Astrology” podcast and contributing astrology columns to Niagara Now.
Brian McKenna, 77, on May 5, after a short illness. McKenna’s start in media began at Concordia University where he was editor of the campus newspaper. From there, he joined the Montreal Star as a parliamentary reporter. In 1975, McKenna became the founding producer of CBC’s The Fifth Estate where he worked until 1988. During his 37-year career with the public broadcaster, he produced numerous documentaries, sometimes in concert with his brother, Terence, including award-winning, but controversial series The Valour and the Horror (1992), exploring Canada’s involvement in three battles during WWII. Other documentaries included Pierre Elliot Trudeau: Memoirs (1994); The Bribe or the Bullet (1996) on narco-trafficking and corruption in Mexico for CBC’s Witness; Fire and Ice: The Rocket Richard Riot (2000) on the seven-hour long riot that took place in 1955 after the president of the NHL suspended the Montreal Canadiens legend; Korea: The Unfinished War (2003) looking into North Korean allegations the U.S. attempted biological warfare; and Big Sugar (2005) on the sugar industry. Among other accolades, McKenna received the Gordon Sinclair Award For Broadcast Journalism in 1993, the Governor General’s History Award for Popular Media in 2007, and a combined nine Gemini and prix Gemeaux awards, as well as the Pierre Berton Prize for Canadian History. He was also a co-founder of Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE).
Dwayne Keen, 57, on May 5, after a long battle with cancer. Keen worked at The Calgary Sun before transitioning to radio sales and joining the Calgary Radio Group in 2005 as an account manager. Sales and marketing positions followed at Corus Calgary and Fabmar Communications’ 89.5 The Hawk (CHWK-FM) Chilliwack. After a detour working for NuVista Homes and Inland Audio Visual, he returned to radio in 2014 to work with Newcap’s Calgary stations. For the last seven years, he’d been in business and creative development.
Global BC celebrates the life of our friend and former colleague Deb Hope. Squire Barnes has more on how her work ethic and sense of humour made her a B.C. news icon.
Read more: https://t.co/tPUzwOB8P2 pic.twitter.com/sEvcoVzPRs— Global BC (@GlobalBC) May 16, 2023
Bruce Whiteford, 63, on May 16. Whiteford got his start in broadcasting as a disc jockey at CFNY and as a CNE Bandstand Manager at age 16. He went on to become an electrician with Ontario Hydro, getting his first taste of production as a lighting director for Brampton Theatre in the early 1980s. That led to a long career as a lighting director and technical producer, starting with Global TV in Toronto, beginning in 1982. He left Global in 1990 to join TVO as a Technical Director and Producer, before landing at CBC in 1998 where he would work for the next 21 years, retiring in 2018. Whiteford had been freelancing for the past three years, working with Dome Productions, Tri-Lite and Mediapro Canada, most recently on Canadian Premier League broadcasts.
Egbert Gaye, 67, on June 4, following a heart attack. Gaye was best known as a longtime commentator on CJAD Montreal where he had a reputation for jousting with host Tommy Schnurmacher on the station’s Gang of Four segment, and more recently, The Elias Makos Show. Gaye was the founder of Montreal Community Contact, a newspaper dedicated to covering the city’s Black and Caribbean community, which he continued to helm as Managing Editor after 31 years. A graduate of Concordia University, he had also been a contributing columnist for the Montreal Gazette in the past and served on the Gazette Board of Contributors.
Doug Caldwell, on June 12. Following his graduation from the Radio Television Program at NSCC Kingstec, Caldwell got his start in broadcasting with Annapolis Valley Radio in Kentville, NS in the early 1980s, holding roles from copywriter to on-air and assistant music director. He joined Q104 Halifax in 1983 as Music Director and an on-air personality, before moving into a more than two-decade career in music marketing, initially as National Promotion Director for Island Music Canada and then National Marketing Manager for Virgin Music Canada from 1991-2001, working with acts from the Spice Girls to Lenny Kravitz and Smashing Pumpkins. He went on to work as the marketing lead for the Associated Labels Department at EMI Music Canada. Concurrently, Caldwell taught courses on Music Industry Marketing and the History of Pop Music at Toronto’s Trebas Institute, George Brown College, and the Metalworks Institute of Sound & Music Production in Mississauga. In more recent years, Caldwell had worked in sales and marketing with Toronto indie label Sparks Music and served as a contributing writer on Jeff Woods’ nationally syndicated show “The Legends of Classic Rock.”
Walter Kemp, 85, on June 9. CKDU Halifax’s longest-serving programmer, Kemp had hosted “Saturday Morning Musical Box” since February 1985 — the first week the Dalhousie University campus station hit the airwaves. He went on to serve the radio station for 38 years. Born in Montreal and educated in Toronto, Harvard, and Oxford, Kemp founded and chaired the Music Department at Waterloo Lutheran University (now Wilfrid Laurier), before moving to Halifax in 1977 to become Chair of the Dalhousie Music Department and Director of the Dalhousie Chorale. Since 2005, Kemp had served as Artistic and Administrative Director of Opera Nova Scotia.
Scott Bodnarchuk, 63, on June 5. The General Sales Manager for Rogers Sports & Media’s radio stations in Atlantic Canada for the last 12 years, Bodnarchuk claimed “he never worked a day in his life” because of his passion for radio sales, according to his obituary. Based in Halifax, Bodnarchuk joined Rogers in 2011 as Retail Sales Manager, Atlantic. Prior to joining Rogers, Bodnarchuk ran the Local Management Agreement (LMA) between CHUM’s stations in Halifax and Newcap Radio. Read Danny Kingsbury’s tribute here.
Joy Rosen, 65, on June 9. Originally from Montreal, after completing her B.A. in English at the University of Toronto, Rosen found herself with a desire to make documentary films which took her to Syracuse University, where she graduated with a M.Sc. in Television, Radio and Film. Rosen founded Portfolio Entertainment with Lisa Olfman in 1991 after the company they were working at downsized, building the venture into a globally-recognized production, distribution, and animation company with a catalogue of over 2,000 episodes of animation, kids, scripted and digital media content. Together with Olfman, Rosen was awarded the 2015 WIFT-T Crystal Award for Outstanding Achievement in Business and the Rotman Canadian Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
Ab Douglas (Abram Driediger), 93, on March 21. After graduating from Queen’s University, Douglas started his broadcasting career in 1951 in Manitoba. He went on to become CTV’s Parliamentary Bureau Chief and co-anchored the first CTV National News program with Baden Langdon (later with Peter Jennings) in November 1962. In 1967, he joined CBC to produce documentaries and work as a foreign correspondent in Moscow, where he remained until 1972. He also served as the national reporter in Edmonton and Vancouver. In 1980, he went on to a teaching position at the University of Regina School of Journalism. He concluded his career helping set up the Inuit broadcasting network, based in Nunavut. Retiring in the 1980s, he ran the family cattle and horse ranch near Maple Creek, SK until moving to Kelowna in 1989. In 1993, he published On Foreign Assignment: The Inside Story of Journalism’s Elite Corps, taking readers “behind-the-scenes to a formal dinner with DeGaulle and to a beach party at the Kennedys.”
Russ McCloud. McCloud’s radio career began at CKPG Prince George and CKOV Kelowna in the early 1970s. He joined CFUN Vancouver in 1976, before being drafted by CHUM Toronto in 1984 where he is thought to hold the record for the longest, uninterrupted stint in nights on the station – from ‘84 to ’93 – before moving into afternoons. Known for his energy and enthusiasm, McCloud was on-air at CHUM for nearly 17 years, also working with AM sister station 1050 CHUM as host of the nationally syndicated “Canadian Countdown” show. He went on to host middays on CINW AM 940 Montreal, until the station went dark in January 2010.
Dan Carson, 60, on June 27. Heard on Calgary’s Country 105 (CKRY-FM) for three decades, Carson was part of the station’s “Odd Squad” morning team alongside fellow long-serving personalities Robyn Adair, Doug Veronelly, and later Roger Rhodes. Over those three decades, he briefly detoured to the CKO radio network to travel with the Calgary Cannons baseball team, parting ways with Corus Entertainment in 2019. He went on to work for CityNews 660 (CFFR-AM) Calgary, starting in 2020, as a weekend announcer. He had also served as the public address announcer for the Calgary Stampeders for 31 years.
Bob Lockhart, 92, on June 18 at the Veterans Health Unit in Fredericton. A two-time Mayor of the City of Saint John (‘71-74, ‘80-83), Lockhart started his journalism career at CJCH Halifax, before moving to St. John’s, NL, in 1956, where he gained experience at CJON and VOCM, working in both radio and television. He joined CFBC Saint John as a founding partner in 1961, where he hosted popular call-in show, “Talk of the Town” until 1969. Often covering hot political topics of the day, it opened the door for Lockhart’s foray into politics. As a war correspondent, he covered events in Europe, the Middle East, Vietnam, Bosnia, and Kosovo and was an embedded photojournalist with 3 RCR Battle Group in Afghanistan. In 2001, he accepted an invitation to become a member of the Canadian War Correspondents Association with his photos appearing in Maclean’s, TIME and Egypt Today. Among his industry affiliations, he served as the Atlantic Regional Representative to the board of Broadcast News, served as President of the Atlantic Association of Broadcasters, was an Atlantic Region Director with the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), and a Director of VoicePrint Broadcasting. Lockhart was named to the CAB Hall of Fame in 2007.
Bill Lawrence, 91, on July 14, following a heart attack. After graduating from Ryerson University in 1954, Lawrence started his broadcasting career at CHCH-TV Hamilton as a technician. His talent was quickly recognized and he went to work as a director, producer, writer and announcer, most notably as a weatherman and host of the long-running “Tiny Talent Time” for 35 years, starting in 1957 – a children’s version of station owner Ken Soble’s radio and TV series “Ken Soble’s Amateur Hour.” Lawrence also created other children’s programming, including puppet show “Albert J. Steed.” He went on to spend 28 years at the CBC, presenting news and weather, in addition to programs like “It’s Your Choice,” “Juliette and Friends,” and “Such Is Life.” At Global TV, he hosted “Million Dollar Sweeps” and “Travel Analysis.” Lawrence joined the RTA School of Media from 1980-96 as a professor.
Gord Leighton, 78, on July 18 after a brief battle with cancer. After graduating from UBC, Leighton began his broadcast career at CFTK Radio & TV in Terrace, BC, starting in 1964. He held various positions with the station until 1973 when he joined CKPG Prince George where he rose to the position of General Manager. He concurrently served two terms as a Prince George city councillor from 1999-2002. Leighton joined Astral Media in 2003 as GM and GSM of its Vernon stations, through their ownership transition to Bell Media. He also served two terms as president of the BC Association of Broadcasters (BCAB). In retirement, Leighton was one of the key drivers behind establishing a community radio station in Vernon, 97.9 Valley FM (CFAV-FM), which is currently streaming as it fundraises to build a broadcast tower. Leighton stepped down as president of the Vernon Community Radio Society last November after his wife received a Stage 4 brain cancer diagnosis. He had received his own cancer diagnosis more recently.
Bob Segarini, 77, on July 10. Segarini had a music career, starting in the late 1960s, playing with Family Tree, Roxy, and The Whackers, before embarking on a successful solo career after moving to Toronto. In the 1980s, he was enlisted by CHUM-FM Toronto Program Director Warren Cosford to helm the 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. timeslot as “Iceman.” Segarini was fired after just six months after airing a three-hour Motorhead interview, but was soon hired by Gary Slaight at Q107 (CILQ-FM), who went on to give Segarini a show on SiriusXM. He also hosted “Late Great Movies” on Citytv in the mid-1980s. He went on to launch early podcast, the “Bobcast,” alongside co-host Roxanne Tellier. Segarini contributed to numerous television soundtracks over the years, including writing the theme song for “The Edison Twins” and more recently contributed to the soundtrack for “Frances Ha” in 2012.
Tim Lorimer, 65, on July 5 after drowning on Rice Lake. Lorimer was a Media Operations & Technology Supervising Technician at CBC, based in Toronto. A leading studio technician for CBC Radio, Lorimer worked on numerous programs over the years, but is most closely associated with the long-running “Quirks and Quarks” and “As It Happens.” He had recently retired from the public broadcaster to spend more time with his young family.
Peter Starr, 80, on July 3 of cancer. Starr worked for Triumph racing motorcycles before his English accent caught the ear of a radio producer while living in the U.S., leading to his foray as a host on CKLG Vancouver from 1966-68 and then CFUN from 1968-70, prior to his move to Los Angeles to launch Peter Starr Entertainment. Starr dabbled in producing records before going on to produce more than 50 motorcycle racing films from 1973-93, with his work airing on USA Network, TNN, ESPN, Turner Broadcasting, The BBC, Channel Five UK, ABC Sports, The History Channel, and PBS, among other channels. Starr was among the first to host a national television series on motorcycling – The Peter Starr Motorcycle Show – on The Nashville Network, beginning in 1984. From 1991-99, he also worked as a stunt performer riding motorcycles in major films, including Batman and Robin, Apollo 13, Lethal Weapon 3, and over 50 commercials. He additionally designed and built motorcycles equipped to carry large motion picture side-car cameras and was part of the first live broadcast from a motorcycle in competition. Starr was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame in 2017.
Sue Johanson, 93, on June 28. Johanson, a registered nurse, established and ran a first-of-its-kind birth control clinic at a Don Mills high school in the 1970s, before rising to popularity with her call-in show, the Sunday Night Sex Show, on Q107 (CILQ-FM) Toronto in the 1980s. The show eventually made the transition to television, airing on Rogers TV, starting in 1985, before being picked up by the Women’s Television Network (WTN) in 1996 where it had a 10-year run. The U.S. version of the show, Talk Sex with Sue Johanson, debuted on Oxygen in 2002 where it aired until 2008. Johanson was the subject of filmmaker Lisa Rideout’s 2022 documentary, Sex with Sue, chronicling the educator’s life story. Among other accolades, she was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2001. Read more here.
Justin Newsom, 37, on June 26, after being struck by lightning at Loch March Golf and Country Club. A 2009 graduate of Algonquin College’s Television Broadcasting program, Newsom worked with the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club as a camera operator before moving on to roles as an ENG Technician and camera operator with Sun News Network, Gusto TV, TSN, CTV Ottawa, and CBC Ottawa. Since 2021, he had moved into a career in IT with Shared Services Canada.
Murray Parker, 86, on June 9. Parker started his broadcasting career while still a teenager, first with CJOB Winnipeg and then CKRC, before joining CBC Winnipeg in the mid-1960s. He was best known as the weather forecaster on nightly TV newscast “24Hours,” before moving into covering sports in the mid-1970s, including hosting CBC’s national coverage of the Montreal Olympic Games in 1976. He eventually moved back into weather, until his retirement in 1991, returning for another stint as a weatherman for one season in 2007. Outside the CBC, Parker hosted high school quiz show “Reach for the Top” on Videon and co-hosted several Children’s Miracle Network telethons. He is survived by his partner, Arvel Gray, also a former CBC television personality.
Wayne Vallevand, 59, on June 7, after a battle with cancer. A longtime videographer at CBC Yukon, Vallevand had worked with the public broadcaster since 1994. Originally from Whitehorse, he started as a camera operator in 1988, working his way up from the library at Northern Native Broadcasting in Yukon where he began his career in 1986. He covered stories across the North and beyond, including several stints with CBC Sports. His final outing with CBC was his work on the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games.
Lee Major (Ivan Lemesurier), 85, on July 11. Major began his more than five-decade career in Yellowknife with CBC Radio in 1957. Early in his career, he made the move to CBC Winnipeg where he worked in both radio and television, hosting programs including “Major Progression,” “Music to Listen to Jazz By,” and “Red River Country.” He went on to co-host “2 Grumpy Guys in the Kitchen” on CKY-TV, alongside Don Percy, among other projects. Starting in the early ‘90s, Major resurfaced at CJNU 93.7 Winnipeg, a Nostalgia Broadcasting Cooperative. In his last years, he’d been retired to Campbell River, BC.
Patrick Monaghan on July 25. Monaghan was the host of award-winning program “Buckslide Blues Cruise” on Haliburton community radio station 100.9 Canoe FM (CKHA-FM). Taking over the show in 2016 from former host Lee MacLean, Monaghan was an ambassador and champion of the blues, traveling to blues festivals across Ontario to discover new artists, interview and spotlight their music on the show. Prior to hosting the show, he produced David Mair’s “Tuesday Night Sessions” on the station for two and a half years. Monaghan was recognized nationally for “Buckslide Blues Cruise,” winning three Best Blues Show Of The Year awards from the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA). He also received the Toronto Maple Blues Society Award for Best Blues Booster Of The Year in Canada in 2022. Read more here.
Bill Bagshaw, 91, on July 20. Born in Medicine Hat, AB, Bagshaw made his home in Edmonton where he served as sales manager at CFRN-TV and CHQT Radio. He was notably the first publisher of the Edmonton Daily and Sunday Sun newspapers. Among his volunteer contributions to the city were serving as Vice-President of the Commonwealth Games in the late 1970s, President of Klondike Days and the Kinsmen Club, and founding the “Spirit of Edmonton,” which grew from a few Edmonton Eskimo fans in 1973 to a dedicated contingent that has promoted the city at every Grey Cup since 1974. In later years, Bagshaw ran Focal Customer Development and mentored many business leaders through TEC Canada’s peer advisory program for CEOs.
Chris Bowen, 38, on July 31. Bowen’s interest in radio was piqued as a volunteer at University of Waterloo campus station, Radio Waterloo (CKMS-FM), prior to his enrollment in Humber College’s Radio Broadcasting program in the fall of 2003. Bowen’s first full-time job in broadcasting, following his graduation in 2005, was as a junior reporter at CHAT Radio and TV in Medicine Hat, along with Pattison Media’s my96 (CFMY-FM). In 2006, he landed at 660 News (CFFR-FM) Calgary where he was a newsroom mainstay for the next 17 years, up until the time of his passing. Starting out anchoring evenings and weekends, Bowen wore many hats over his nearly two decades with the station, rising to the position of Managing Editor in August 2022.
Frank E. Milne, 88, on July 27. A long time television math teacher, Milne began his teaching career at Queen Elizabeth High School in Halifax before his foray into TV with the CBC and Nova Scotia Department of Education. Serving in the role for 13 years, he went on to hold the title of Vice Principal, Extension Services and Registrations at Nova Scotia Institute of Technology (now Nova Scotia Community College) for almost two decades. Milne was also a judge and advisor for 15 years on high school TV competition series “Reach for the Top.” Among his professional associations, he served as the founding President of the N.S. Math Teachers Association; National President of the Canadian Correspondence School Directors; and served as treasurer of the Maritime Branch of ACTRA. In 1990, while Milne was in the midst of retirement, a group of current and former students approached him with the idea of setting up a scholarship in his name at Queen Elizabeth High School. The first scholarship was awarded in 1992 and set up as a charity under the Halifax Youth Foundation, on which Milne had served for 40 years as a Board Member, with a goal of establishing an endowment of $25,000. In 2002, he was awarded the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal for his contribution to education.
Sylvia Asche Bullard, on Aug. 14, after a short battle with cancer. Asche Bullard began her broadcasting career at CJMQ Sherbrooke, Que. where she held roles from on-air and news to sales. Her time in the community also included reporting for the Sherbrooke Record. Asche Bullard eventually moved to Ottawa to work for the Canadian Traffic Network (CTN), undertaking traffic reporting for Evanov Communication’s The Jewel (CJWL). She was quickly recruited to co-host the morning show on The Jewel stations in Rockland and Hawkesbury, while also supplying newscasts to Jewel Ottawa. Since The Jewel Ottawa’s rebrand to Lite 98.5 two years ago, she’d been co-hosting the afternoon drive show with Steve Boyton, and could also be heard delivering news on sister station Lite 105.7 in Hudson, Que, among other backfill work on stations within the Evanov group. Asche Bullard had been away from work focusing on her health since April.
Al Hollingsworth, 87 on Aug. 5. Raised in Windsor, NS, Hollingsworth spent his early working years serving in the Canadian Armed Forces in the Provost Corps. After serving with the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, Hollingsworth left the military going on to become a sports reporter with the Halifax Chronicle Herald. From there, he served as Managing Editor of the Dartmouth Free Press and later Editor of the Bedford Sackville Weekly News which became the Halifax Daily News. He concurrently was a local radio personality, hosting show slike “Saturday Night Classics” on CHFX. Hollingsworth went on to serve as Director of Communications for Vince McLean during his tenure as Leader of the Opposition in the mid-1980s through early ‘90s. In more recent years, he helped launch community radio station CIOE-FM Lower Sackville, NS in 2014 and had been a volunteer announcer on the station up until last year. Hollingsworth was an inductee of the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame in the “Builder” category, holding numerous coaching, league president and executive roles, spanning Metro Valley Jr. A hockey to Baseball Canada.
Phil Lind, 80, on Aug. 20. For nearly 40 years, Lind was the right-hand man to Rogers Communications founder Ted Rogers, credited with playing an integral role in every major transaction in company history, including the recent Rogers-Shaw merger. A long time director of the company and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Rogers Control Trust, Lind first joined Rogers in 1969 as Programming Chief. With the company for 54 years, he was also instrumental in the creation of the Rogers Group of Funds and was the architect and founder of CPAC (Cable Public Affairs Channel). He additionally led Rogers’ foray into live sports, including its acquisition of both Sportsnet and the Toronto Blue Jays. Among other accolades he received over the years, Lind was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada in 2002. In 2012, he was inducted into the U.S. Cable Hall of Fame, just the third Canadian to receive the honour after Ted Rogers and J.R. Shaw. Read more here and find shared memories from friends, colleagues and competitors here.
Roger Cole, 62, on Aug. 18, of cancer. The recipient of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Central Canadian Broadcast Engineers (CCBE) for his outstanding contributions to the broadcast community, Cole was a graduate of the Electronics Technology program at St. Lawrence College. He started his career at CKWS Kingston before moving on to Brockville, Chatham and finally, back to Kingston where he had been for the last 30 years, rising to the position of Chief Engineer of Television and Radio for Kingston and Peterborough at Corus Entertainment. He is remembered by colleagues for his organizational skills and ability to tackle any challenge, no matter how daunting, in an industry of ever-changing technology and resources.
Kim Blue, 70, on Aug. 1 after a brief illness. Blue discovered his talent for broadcasting while attending the University of Calgary in the 1970s at campus station, CJSW Radio. Among his professional stops were hosting talk at CFCN Calgary. He also served as a manager and host at the CKO news network. He later pursued voiceover work, going on to a successful career in real estate.
Keith Spicer, 89, on Aug. 24. After graduating from the University of Toronto and the Sorbonne, Spicer began his professional career teaching at the University of Ottawa in the 1960s. A defender of national unity, Spicer was a researcher on the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism and later special assistant to Minister of Justice Guy Favreau. From 1970-77, he served as the country’s first Commissioner of Official Languages, appointed by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to uphold French and English language rights for federal bodies with the implementation of the 1969 Official Languages Act. In between government jobs, he was a commentator and host of current affairs and other television projects, as well as a contributor to the Globe and Mail and a columnist for the Vancouver Sun. He served as editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Citizen from 1985-89. Spicer was appointed Chair of the CRTC In 1989, however his seven-year appointment was interrupted when he was called upon by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to chair the “Citizen’s Forum on Canada’s Future” in 1990. Among the initiatives Spicer led at the CRTC was a campaign to reduce gratuitous TV violence aimed at children and backed telecom competition and lower rates. Spicer went on to become the founding director of the Institute for Media, Peace and Security at the UN-affiliated University for Peace in Costa Rica where he supervised the development of courses on media and genocide, media battlefield ethics, and women journalists in war zones. Spicer was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978.
Timothy Knight, 85, on Sept. 6. Born in the UK and raised in South Africa, Knight left school at age 17 to follow his calling as a reporter. In South Africa, he worked for the Natal Mercury, the Sunday Express and the Rand Daily Mail, before crossing the border to work with Zambia TV. He went on to cover two wars as a foreign correspondent with United Press International in the Congo and then moved stateside to work in New York with ABC TV and Radio, NBC-TV, and PBS. Knight won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Program Achievement for ABC documentary “LSD: Trip to Where?” in which he infamously dropped acid with Timothy Leary. He went on to produce and report on his own vasectomy operation for NBC and was the network reporter assigned to cover the Brooklyn bank hostage-taking later portrayed in the feature film, “Dog Day Afternoon.” After a decade in the U.S., he joined CBC’s The National as a producer, going on to serve as lead trainer for a decade for CBC’s TV journalists. After 15 years with the public broadcaster, he founded Tim Knight + Associates, coaching communicators in Canada, the U.S., Jamaica, Mauritius, Spain, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Russia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ghana and South Africa. Following the end of apartheid, he returned to South Africa to resume journalism training there, helping the South African Broadcasting Corporation transition from state to public media. He received a 2012 Innoversity Angel Award for playing “an outstanding role in making the media more accessible to persons with disabilities, Aboriginal media professionals, and people of colour.”
John Carlisle Stubbs, 74, on May 26. Stubbs started his broadcast career at CFQR-FM Montreal as a part-time radio operator in 1966. He went on to work with CFCF-AM as a commercial and sports producer for Montreal Expos baseball, Alouettes football and Canadiens hockey. He also freelanced as a producer for visiting baseball broadcasters. Stubbs eventually rose to the position of Operations Manager for both CFQR-FM and CFCF-AM, a position he held throughout much of the 1980s. He was made VP of Operations for parent company, Mount Royal Broadcasting in 1988. Stubbs moved to Toronto in 1994 and joined the National Broadcast Reading Service (NBRS), aiding in the creation of the first audio description device in Canada. He was also involved in the launch of Toronto Star TV, a broadcast studio in the Yonge St. newsroom. He went on to travel across Canada as a videographer for Kidney Cancer and Lung Cancer Canada. Leading up to retirement, Stubbs returned to his radio roots, helping launch 105.9 FM The Region (CFMS-FM) Markham in 2013 as Operations Manager, a position he held until 2019.
Jim Morrison, 80, on Sept. 23. Morrison first got his feet wet in broadcasting as part of the UBC Radio Society, while obtaining his Bachelor of Science. He worked with CKWX Vancouver early in his career, before joining CBC Calgary in 1975 as a producer and host on the evening news hour. Morrison went on to host mornings on Selkirk Communications’ CJAZ Vancouver, billed as Canada’s first all-jazz radio station in the early 1980s. He established Morrison Productions in 1985, his own corporate video production company.
Stan Klees, 91, on Sept. 22. A Toronto native, Klees got his first taste of radio in his teens, dropping out of high school to host on CKLB in the late 1940s, later hosting “Teens and Tunes” on CHUM. Klees transitioned into the music business, eventually landing a producer role at London Records, going on to found the Tamarac record label and then Red Leaf Records. Frustrated by the lack of opportunity for homegrown acts beyond the Billboard charts, Klees urged friend Walt Grealis to found Canadian music industry trade publication RPM Weekly, which made its debut in February 1964. Grealis became a collaborator on future ventures, including the creation of the JUNOs in 1970, which grew out of RPM’s Gold Leaf Awards celebrating Canadian talent, with an eye to building a star system north of the border. Klees and Grealis began lobbying Ottawa to legislate making Canadian content viable, with CanCon regulations, based on Klees’ proposals, introduced by the CRTC in 1971, requiring radio stations to play 30% Canadian musical selections during peak hours. Klees was also the creator of the MAPL logo intended to help programmers identify Canadian-produced selections. He founded the Canadian Independent Record Production Association in 1971, and helped establish the Canadian Academy of Country Music Advancement, the pre-cursor to the Canadian Country Music Association. The Big Country Awards, forerunner to the Canadian Country Music Awards, followed in 1975. Klees was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1995 and was recognized, along with Grealis, with a SOCAN Special Achievement Award in 2001. The duo also received the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame Legacy Award in 2005. Read more here.
Bob Henry, 80, on Sept. 21. Henry’s foray into broadcasting came during a stint with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) while serving at Station Armstrong in Ontario at “KOLD.” He went on to a 59-year career in radio with his first on-air appearance in 1964 at CFCY Charlottetown. From there, he worked at CKDH Amherst, NS and CKCL Truro, NS where his established the first incarnation of his “Weekend Jamboree” show in 1967. Stops followed at CFAN Newcastle, NB; CHER Sydney NS; CHTN Charlottetown; and CKPE Sydney, NS. In 1980, Henry moved the family to Saint John, NB where he joined CHSJ as Program Director and re-introduced “Weekend Jamboree,” which quickly became a popular Saturday evening staple with listeners. The show eventually ended in 1995 and Henry undertook a new career challenge with Canadian Blood Services, in addition to serving as fundraising director for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of Canada. In 2002, he returned to his radio roots, reprising “‘Weekend Jamboree” on Sunday evenings on Country 94.1 FM (CHSJ-FM) Saint John and working in sales for the station. He went on to host “Jukebox Country” on Oldies 96.1 (CINB-FM) Saint John, which aired Sunday evenings, starting in 2021 until September 3rd, 2023, when he signed off for the final time. Henry was a member of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) 25 Year Club. In 2005, he was inducted into the New Brunswick Country Music Hall of Fame (NBCMHF).
Pierre Camu, 100, on Sept. 5. A geographer, academic, transport executive and civil servant, Camu served as Chair of the CRTC from 1977-79, succeeding Harry Boyle. He previously had served as president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) from 1973-77. In 1976, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. Among other pursuits, Camu went on to notably became one of the founders of the 28,000 kilometre Trans Canada Trail, which connects Canada from one ocean to the other two.
Zelda Young, 73, on Sept. 27, following a courageous battle with cancer. Young was the host of “The Zelda Show” on Toronto’s CHIN Radio, starting in 1976, following in her father Sam Yuchtman’s footsteps, one of Toronto’s early Jewish radio producers and the first on Johnny Lombardi’s newly-licenced multicultural station when it launched in 1966. Young went on to helm the longest-running Jewish radio program in Canada for more than 30 years, a variety show featuring guest interviews, and news from Israel and around the world. Her radio show went on to be syndicated to stations in Vancouver and Florida until 2000. Young also hosted a television show on Citytv called “Tapestry” (later renamed The Zelda Young Show) from 1986 to 1993.
Frank Martina, 76, on Oct. 3, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. Hailing from Big Beaver, SK near the Montana border, Martina got into radio in the mid-1960s after winning a high school announcer competition hosted by CKCK Regina. He went on to work at stations in Weyburn and Moose Jaw before joining CJIB-AM Vernon in 1971. Martina had the distinction of being the longest-serving morning show host at CJIB, which became KISS FM and later Beach Radio. He retired in 2007, but returned to host a Saturday afternoon classics show that became a station staple. It came to an end in Dec. 2020, just months before Martina would have celebrated 50 years with the station. The Vernon Community Radio Society (VCRS) had hoped to return Martina to the airwaves with a revival of his Saturday afternoon show.
Steve Orest Andrusiak, 73, on Sept. 5 of cancer. Andrusiak’s journalism career included serving as Executive Producer of Television at CBC News Toronto, and a decade-long run as Executive Producer of TV News & Current Affairs at CBC PEI, in addition to roles with CFRN-AM Edmonton and CTV National News. From 2001-05, he chaired the Communication Arts Division at Fanshawe College and later taught Media Ethics and TV Journalism at Western University. With a deep dedication to his Ukrainian heritage, Andrusiak also hosted half-hour program “Nasha Kasha” on Radio Western (CHRW-FM) about Ukrainian life in Ontario. Starting in 2012, he served as President of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (Ontario) and worked with London-based not-for-profit Canadigm as a media coordinator, helping digitally record historic sites, documents and artifacts related to Canadian history, in addition to producing and directing documentary “100 Years from Vimy.”
Duane Grandbois, 75, on Sept. 1. Grandbois had a more than 50-year career, beginning in his hometown of Weyburn, SK. From Saskatchewan, he went to Red Deer in 1976 where he was Program Director for CKRD-AM and FM, hosted the morning show and served as weatherman on the supper hour TV newscast. He went on to host afternoon drive on CKCK Regina and then CJCA Edmonton. From there, he landed at CKOV Kelowna in the early 1990s where he hosted afternoon drive and later talk radio. In 2005, he went into sales full-time with Pattison Media in Vernon, while also continuing to host a Saturday morning show and do on-location broadcasts.
Jim Craig, 78, on Oct. 7. Craig was involved in the broadcast industry for more than six decades with a career that started in the early 1960s, initially as an announcer in his teens at CJOY Guelph and CKSO Sudbury. He went on to become the first voice heard on CKCB Collingwood when the station went to air in 1965. From there, he moved on to Kitchener, holding roles at CHYM, CKKW-FM and CKCO-TV where he hosted “Bowling for Dollars.” Stints followed in Winnipeg, at CFRN Edmonton, CKSL and CFPL-TV London and eventually CJBK and CJBX-FM where he moved into management. He also did a decade-long stint as a national programmer for CBC Galaxie’s smooth jazz station Jazz Cafe. Craig began teaching in the radio and television program at Fanshawe College part-time in 1985 and later Conestoga College, before joining the Seneca College School of Media in 1998 where he rose to the role of Radio Program Coordinator.
Bob Conroy, 81, on Oct. 6. Originally from Joliet, Illinois, Conroy got a job out of college in Cleveland, OH working at KYW-TV, and later WKYC Radio. Conroy eventually accepted a job offer at CFTO Toronto as a Producer/Director, ascending to the position of Director of Production and Coordinating Producer, and later Director of Operations for the CTV Network. In 1993, he joined CBC as Director of Production for Current Affairs and Newsworld, a position he held up until his retirement in 2007. His work earned him two Gemini award nominations, among other accolades.
Alex Morrison, 63, on Sept. 27, following complications from surgery. A well-known radio personality in Cape Breton, Morrison was one of the group that was awarded the licence for CKCH-FM Sydney, NS in 2007, alongside fellow broadcaster Jay Bedford and local businessman Barry Martin. In addition to working for stations in Cape Breton and Ontario, Morrison lent his voice to numerous community events, including the Canadian Little League Championships. He also operated a successful DJ business and had recently gone back to school, obtaining a Business Administration diploma from Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC).
Tom Lucas, 73, on Oct. 3. Born in Montreal, Lucas spent his formative years in Vancouver honing his love of music and radio and eventually befriending his idol Red Robinson. He landed his first on-air gig at CKAY in Duncan, BC on Vancouver Island in 1968 where “Tom Lucas” was born. He joined CKOC Hamilton in 1971, with stints at CFGO Ottawa and CJKL Kirkland Lake to follow, before returning to Vancouver and CFUN. “The Luker” was a constant around Vancouver in the 1970s and ‘80s, hosting sock hops, fashion shows, Miss Teen Vancouver pageants and on-location remotes. He went on to join CKVU-TV Vancouver as a weatherman, in addition to hosting a weekly TGIF segment. He later worked at CHRX, CKWX, CJJR and the Canada-wide “Saturday Night Gold Line Request Show” on the Satellite Radio Network. Lucas took over the CISL morning show, following Red Robinson’s retirement in 2001. He went on to develop the Radio Real Estate Show in 2006, showcasing local realtors and mortgage experts, in addition to hosting the Retro Rock Party Line on CFUN.
Barry Gaudin, 77, on Oct. 5. Gaudin (aka Barry Gordon) got his start in radio at Penticton’s CKOK in the early 1970s. From there, he headed to Vancouver’s CJOR and then on to CFAX Victoria. In 1974, he was hired by CKNW as a weekend announcer. Around the same time, sister station CFMI had hired a new morning show announcer, who went M.I.A. on day five of his employment. Gaudin was tapped to fill-in on in mornings, which turned into a gig extending into the early 1980s. A morning stint followed at CIOF 1040 Vancouver. Outside of broadcasting, he got in on the video rental craze early, opening a store in Langley which he operated for several years. Gaudin returned to CKNW and CFMI in the early 1990s where he served in an IT role. He retired in 1996.
Gary Nickerson, 64. Nickerson joined Yarmouths’s CJLS and later Y95 (CJLS-FM) in 1981. He would go on to report, host and serve as News Director for the station for the next 38 years. Following his retirement in 2019, Nickerson hosted the “Outside My Window” podcast, featuring conversations with local community members, alongside friend Quinn Taggart.
Kim Larsson, 66, on Oct. 27, after a brief battle with lung cancer. Larsson graduated from the Columbia Academy of Radio Television & Recording Arts in 1983, getting his start in broadcasting at CHRX Salmon Arm, before moving on to host at CFJC and CIFM Kamloops. He returned to Vancouver and KISS FM (CKKS-FM) in the early ‘90s, followed by stints with the Satellite Radio Network, and then the Rogers Radio stations in Vancouver, including CKWX, CKLG-FM and CFUN. He remained with CKWX until 2010. More recently, he had been reporting for the Canadian Traffic Network (CTN), heard on CKNW and AM 730 (CKGO-AM) Vancouver.
Elizabeth Gray, 86, on Oct. 25, of lung cancer. Gray grew up in Toronto and got her start in journalism at University of Toronto student newspaper, The Varsity, then edited by Peter Gzowski, where she met her husband, the late journalist John Gray. Gray started freelancing for CBC while living in London, returning to Canada in 1965 where she frequently contributed to and later hosted Cross-Country Checkup from 1976-78. She went on produce for Sunday Morning before taking over As It Happens from co-host Barbara Frum in 1981. After being replaced by Dennis Trudeau in 1985, she went on to produce Sunday Morning and other audio projects, retiring just prior to her 70th birthday. Her work with CBC earned her four ACTRA Awards over the years.
Doriana Temolo, 64, on Nov. 1 after a battle with breast cancer. A trailblazer for women in news, Temolo started her career in 1978 at CKNW, when its studios were still located in New Westminster, BC. By 1983, she had moved into television news with CKVU-TV in Vancouver, going on to join BCTV (now Global BC) in 1987. Temolo initially joined the station as a reporter, anchor and producer, eventually moving into a producer role on Global National for a decade, part of the original team that launched the national newscast in 2001. She was appointed news director in 2011, a role she held until 2016. Under her direction, the newscast won numerous awards, including the Canadian Screen Award for Best National Newscast in 2015.
Donald Shebib, 85, on Nov. 5. After studying sociology and history at the University of Toronto, Shebib enrolled at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1961. He gained experience working on several productions by cult filmmaker Roger Corman and famously as a cinematographer and editor on classmate Francis Ford Coppola’s first film, “Dementia 13.” Rather than pursue a career in Hollywood, Shebib returned to Canada and started producing documentaries for the National Film Board (NFB), CTV and CBC. He went on to a six-decade career, receiving critical acclaim for his 1970 feature film “Goin’ Down The Road,” one of the first depictions of Toronto on screen, which earned several Canadian Film Awards and was named the sixth-best Canadian film of all time by the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015. Among Shebib’s television credits, he directed episodes of Night Heat (1986-88), The Edison Twins (1985-86), The Campbells (1988-90), E.N.G. (1990-92), and Lonesome Dove: The Series (1994-95). Shebib’s final feature film “Nightalk” premiered at TIFF in 2022, executive produced by his record executive son, Noah “40” Shebib.
Peter “Vern” Ferguson, 58, on Nov. 14. Originally from Fredericton, NB, Ferguson graduated from Loyalist College’s Radio Broadcasting program in 1987, landing a job as a producer right out of college at Rock 95 (CFJB-FM) Barrie, ON. Ferguson worked with Rock 95 until 1997, with the exception of a brief detour to Q104 (CFRQ-FM) Halifax in the late ’80s. From there, he took on a production coordinator position with Pelmorex Radio Network, the radio division of The Weather Network. He went on to establish his own audio production company in Innisfil, ON, producing commercials, among other audio projects, in addition to voice coaching.
Michel Doucet, 63, on Nov. 14. Doucet was the voice of Radio-Canada’s “Leéveil Nouveau-Brunswick” for 16 years, and more recently the host of Saturday morning show “Michel.” Prior to Radio-Canada, Doucet worked at New Brunswick stations CJVA Radio Acadie in Caraquet, CHLR Radio Aboiteaux in Moncton and CKRO Radio Péninsule in Pokemouche, in addition to contributing to La Tribune in Bathurst, L’Évangéline in Moncton and L’Acadie Nouvelle in Caraquet. A journalist for over 40 years, he was inducted into the Atlantic Journalism Hall of Fame in 2019.
Dave Pears, 71, on Nov. 1. “Pearsy,” as he was known by colleagues, began his broadcasting career in Smithers, BC in 1974. He moved on to CKIQ Kelowna in 1977, where he stayed for the next 19 years. Pears’ more than 40-year radio career continued at CKOV and Power 104, B103, and finally K963, up until his retirement in 2016. In addition to his work on-air, he was known for emceeing numerous community events, including Kelowna Folkfest, the Miss Kelowna Lady of the Lake pageants, and countless concerts.
Alex J. Walling, 77, on Nov. 25. Walling’s journalism career began in 1965 as a newspaper reporter in Quebec City. After moving into radio, he landed at CHNS Halifax in 1972, hosting the city’s first full-time sports talk show on Sunday nights. As the station’s first full-time sports director, he travelled to numerous sporting events, including the 1972 Summit Series (where he was one of two journalists who got access to Paul Henderson) and was a mainstay on the sidelines of Atlantic University football games. In 1984, he started CKWK 1340 AM in Corner Brook, NL as president and general manager of Western Broadcasting. That was followed by a stint in Swift Current as GM of CJGL-FM. In 1988, he accepted the role of the inaugural sports anchor on independent television station, MITV (now Global). Concurrently, he founded the Atlantic Media Institute in Halifax, teaching the basics of radio, television, print and photography. Walling also worked for nine years as TSN’s Maritime correspondent and wrote regular column “A.J.’s Atlantic” for TSN.ca. He could also be seen from 1994-2000 on weekly sportstalk show “A.J., Harv & Company” on Eastlink television. In retirement, he secured a licence for Queens County Community Radio (CJQC-FM) in Liverpool in 2009. After suffering a stroke in 2011, he sold his interest in the station. He later hosted a morning show on Cobequid Radio Society community radio station, CIOE-FM, in Lower Sackville.
Lorna Jackson, 77, on Nov. 4. Jackson started her broadcasting career as a researcher and producer at CBC Edmonton, working on public affairs programs like CBC Access, Marketplace, Take 30, and Information Morning radio. After a stint at CBC Regina hosting Saskatchewan Today, Jackson married colleague Allan Bonner, relocating to Toronto in 1980 where she became the first female co-host of The World at Eight with Rex Loring, read listener letters on Peter Gzowski’s Morningside, anchored Canada at Five, The World This Weekend, As It Happens, and hosted children’s program Anybody Home?. Jackson additionally hosted regional music program, Music Around Us, for 14 years and contributed narration to The Nature of Things, among many other programs. She retired from the CBC in 2007.
Ron Harrison, 82, on Oct. 14. Best known for his long career as a director for Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC), Harrison started his career with CBC in the early 1960s, initially as a copy clerk and later in finance. He eventually joined CBC Sports as a script assistant, before moving into the position of production assistant mentored under the legendary first HNIC producer-director George Retzlaff. Harrison was transferred to Vancouver as producer and director of the network’s West Coast sports hub, including special event coverage, Stanley Cups, Grey Cups, and Olympic Games, among many other sporting events. In the 1980s, he joined Molstar Communications as Vice-President, which produced the HNIC broadcasts for CBC. Over the course of his career, Harrison earned two Emmy Awards, two Gemini Awards, and a Career Achievement Award from Sports Media Canada in 2007.
Paul Wentzell, 60, on Dec. 4 after a brief illness. Wentzell began his broadcasting career in 1983, anchoring news on Fredericton stations CIHI and CKHJ, before transitioning to roles behind-the-scenes. He spent many years as Sales Director with Bell Media Radio in Fredericton before moving over to Stingray’s Fredericton station group as General Sales Manager in October 2019.
Charles Officer, 48, on Dec. 1. Born in Toronto, Officer studied communication design at the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD), before leaving to play professional hockey in the UK, which he later abandoned due to an injury. He worked as a creative director before being accepted into the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City, where he studied performance. The founder of Canesugar Filmworks, his directorial debut, the short When Morning Comes, premiered at the 2000 Toronto International Film Festival. Its follow up, Short Hymn Silent War, screened at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. He wrote and directed his first feature Nurse.Fighter.Boy in 2008, starring Clark Johnson (Homicide, The Wire). Premiering at TIFF, the film earned 10 Genie Nominations in 2009 and won the Audience Choice Awards at the Mannheim-Heidelberg Film Festival and Sarasota Film Festival. His first feature doc, Mighty Jerome, for NFB, followed the rise and fall of Canadian track and field star Harry Jerome, and won multiple awards including a 2012 Emmy Award for Best Historical Documentary. For CBC Television, Officer directed The Skin We’re In, exploring anti-black racism in Canada. He also directed multiple series episodes, including Rookie Blue (ABC), Saving Hope (NBC), Private Eyes (Ion), Ransom (CBS), 21 Thunder (Netflix), and Coroner (CBC), in addition to music videos for K’naan and DJ Green Velvet.
Dan MacDonald, 89, on Nov. 23. Originally hailing from Pictou, NS, MacDonald’s acting chops developed at the Old Vic Company in London, which he toured with throughout the UK and Middle East. He returned to Canada for roles with the Stratford Festival, CBC Radio shows, and other live theatre work. His film and television repertoire included Wind at My Back, Road to Avonlea, The Little Kidnappers, Due South, Street Legal, The Trailer Park Boys – Don’t Legalize It, and The Book of Negroes. He founded his own theatre company, Tiroam Arts, producing plays for audiences in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Alberta. MacDonald also did a brief stint in Saint John, NB as a news anchor for Irving-owned CHSJ. He was a past president of ACTRA and the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association, and an active director of The Performing Arts Lodges (PAL).
Joe Stevens, 62, on Dec. 1. Stevens spent almost four decades on air at CKNL-AM Fort St John and later CJDC-AM Dawson Creek. Hired in 1983 at CKNL, he handled afternoon drive for more than 30 years and was also the rink announcer for the Fort St. John Huskies. He survived many ownership changes at CKNL as the station changed hands from Nornet to Okanagan Skeena Group, Telemedia, Standard Broadcasting, Astral and finally Bell Media. In the late 2000s, Bell transferred Stevens to CJDC-AM Dawson Creek before the company ended his employment in 2021, bringing a 38-year run in the Peace Country to an end. Stevens returned to his native New Brunswick in retirement.
Ian Vandaelle, 33, on Dec. 5. A 2012 Ryerson Journalism grad, Vandaelle interned with the Red Deer Advocate, Wetaskiwin Times, National Post and Report on Business, before joining BNN Bloomberg as a producer in November 2012. Based in Toronto, Vandaelle left BNN in September to join the Financial Times as its financial services reporter.
George Sumyie, 84, on Dec. 9. Born in Vancouver, Sumyie’s broadcasting career started out of vocational school when he was hired by Stan Davis at Broadcast Technical Services, which offered construction support for radio station studios and transmitter sites, technical advice and maintenance of studio and transmitter properties. Contracted by stations in B.C. and the Prairies, Sumyie became well known as an expert in AM broadcast transmitter maintenance and repair. He was also part of a group, alongside Ed Prefontaine and Harvey Davidson, who successfully applied to the CRTC for a broadcast licence in Brandon, MB. CKLQ went on the air in 1977, with the station’s success leading to the purchase of the Big R Radio Network, headquartered in Salmon Arm, BC in the early 1980s. Sumyie worked with Broadcast Technical Services until 2000 when he retired due to heart issues.
Dr. Robert (Bob) Fournier, 84, on Dec. 10. Fournier contributed to CBC Nova Scotia’s Information Morning for four decades as a science columnist. The former Chair of Dalhousie University’s Department of Oceanography, he also served as the university’s Associate Vice-President (Research and International Relations) and Executive Director of the Dalhousie Ocean Studies Program. Passionate about outreach and communicating science to the public, Fournier had made an estimated 2,500 appearances on CBC radio and television since 1974. In 2018, he was awarded an honourary degree from Acadia University for his dedication to communicating science. Listen to CBC Nova Scotia’s tribute to Fournier here.
Ken “The General” Grant, 88, on Dec. 13. The voice of morning radio in Ottawa for decades, Grant first joined CFRA in 1961, going on to spend more than 30 years with the station. He earned the nickname “The General” shortly after joining the station when newscaster Campbell McDonald signed off a story about former Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant with “Now, here’s our own General, Ken Grant.” The slogan “I woke up with the General” was known throughout the Ottawa region, later serving as the inspiration for the title of Grant’s 2015 radio memoir “I Woke Up with The General, Too.” Grant’s charitable endeavours included helping Ottawa raise $1 million for the Jerry Lewis Telethon for Muscular Dystrophy, serving as an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Association of Ottawa and Renfrew County, and supporting events for members of the Canadian military. Following his run at CFRA, Grant signed on at Oldies 1310, before retiring from broadcasting in 2001.
Jean-Paul Chartrand, 92, on Dec. 23. Chartrand worked in Quebec sports media for more than 60 years as a host, journalist and columnist across newspapers, radio and television. He began his career in sports at the Journal de Montréal in 1964, joining CKAC In the early 1970s where he produced Montreal Expos games and began commentating, moving beyond baseball to boxing and hosting Montreal Canadiens broadcasts. He went on to TVA Network in 1979, then CJMS, CKVL, and Radio-Canada television where he hosted NFL games on Sunday afternoons. He joined RDS when the station opened in 1989, covering a multitude of sports from football to hunting and fishing shows with sidekick Jean Pagé. According to the network, he had been at the helm of more than 1,600 shows on RDS. Chartrand was inducted into the Panthéon des sports du Québec in November as a builder.
